Handbags and the like



May 1 4, 1957 c. McLEAN HANDBAGS AND THE LIKE Filed July 20, 1955 INVENTOR:

BY WWI HANDBAGS AND THE LIKE Coreen McLean, Kings Park, N. Y. Application July 20, 1955, Serial No. 523,220 3 Claims. (Cl. 150-28) My invention relates to handbags, and its general object is to provide a handbag with a coating or outer wall in a novel and advantageous manner.

More specific objects are to provide a coating that combines a pleasant appearance with protective and with reinforcing elfects, to provide a coating made of waterproof material, to provide a coating that forms a solid, shape-retaining, but somewhat resilient wall of the handbag, to line this wall with the fabric of a sack, and to protect this sack from injuries.

Other objects are to attain these advantages with simple and inexpensive means and, having discovered that this can be done by using cork disks, to form the coating by connecting a multitude of cork disks with each other and with the sack.

Further objects are to arrange the cork disks in overlapping positions, thereby to form a coherent wall, to arrange the overlapping disks according to a uniform pattern, and thereby to adorn the handbag.

Still other objects are to attain these results in an easy and inexpensive manner, to produce the cork disk by slicing bottle corks into circular pieces, to connect the wall-forming pieces, preferably with glue, and to stitch some of the cork disks to the sack.

Still other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of an exemplifying embodiment of my invention, from the appended claims and from the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows a top view of an illustrative embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the same embodiment.

Fig. 3 shows a cross-section of a broken 01f portion of the same embodiment, this crossesection being taken along the line 33 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of a broken off portion of a coating wall which exemplifies an arrangement of cork disks diiferent from the arrangement of cork disks in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

Referring to the drawing, numeral 1 indicates a sack which is preferably made of woven or knitted fabric. This sack may be provided with closing means in any known and suitable manner. For example, a cord 2 passes through holes in the sack in known manner so that the neck 4 of the sack is contracted when the ends 5 of the cord are drawn outward. The drawing shows the sack 1 in a partly closed condition in which the upper rim 6 of the sack forms an irregularly folded or curved line surrounding a narrowed opening. The sack extends from the rim 6 in more or less irregular folds down to the main part 7 of the sack which is held in a permanent shape by a coat of cork disks 8 connected to form a relatively stiff wall.

Each disk 8 has about the size and the shape of a coin, but is made of cork, hence stitchable, resilient, wa-

* nited States Patent 0 terproof, of light weight and not rusting. Preferably, these disks are made by slicing bottle corks which are available cheaply.

A multitude of such disks is used to form a wall surrounding the sides and the bottom of the sack portion 7 so that this wall forms an open box. The shape of this box may be designed as desired. For example, Figs. 1 to 3 show a rectangular shape with rounded corners. However, any or all sides may be curved, for example, in the manner exemplified by Fig. 4.

The disks 8 are atfixed to each other and to the sack part 7 by any suitable means, preferably, with glue. In addition or instead stitching may be used for sewing disks and sack together. For example, the innermost disks 8 of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3 are connected with the sack by stitches 9.

The disks are arranged in overlapping positions and, preferably, according to a uniform pattern whereby they form a coherent wall of pleasant appearance. For example, the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3 has an innermost layer 11 of disks 8 positioned aside of each other like the fields of a chess board. A second layer 12 concentric with the center between four adjacent disks of the layer 12. Each disk of the layer 13 is glued to the four disks of the layer 12 which it overlaps. The layer 13 is the outermost layer of the side Walls. If desired, further layers of disks may be provided. For example, at the bottom a further layer 14 may be atfixed to the layer 13, preferably so that the disks of the layers 13 and 14 overlap each other.

However, many dififerent arrangements of disks may be used to form a coherent protective and ornamental coating. Fig. 4 exemplifies a curved wall having an uppermost horizontal row 15 of disks arranged staggeringly so that the inner side of each disk overlaps and contacts the outer side of the following disk of the row. Another, similarly arranged row 16 may be positioned a little lower than the row 15 and may have an inner side overlapping and contacting the outer side of the row 15, and so on whereby the disks have a staggering arrangement also in vertical direction.

After the disks have been connected, they form a solid wall while the sack portion 7 forms a lining of this wall. In the shown embodiments the upper rim of the wall has a pleasantly scallopped shape.

suitable manner.

I desire it understood that my invention is not confined to the particular embodiments shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that my invention may be carried out in other ways within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention as it is obvious that the particular embodiments shown and described are only a few of the many that may be employed to attain the objects of my invention.

Having described the nature of my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A handbag comprising a sack made of fabric, a neck forming an extension of said sack, closing means on said neck, and a multitude of cork disks directly connected with each other in overlapping positions and together forming a wall, said wall being atfixed to the outside of said sack.

2. A handbag comprising a sack made of fabric, a

A 2,792,043 neck-forming an extension of said sack, closing means disks to said bag and gluing all disks to overlapping on said neck, and a multitude of cork'disks directly condisks; nected with each other in overlapping positions, arranged according to a uniform pattern and together forming a wall, said wall being aflixed to the outside of said sack. 3. A method for providing a handbag with a coating,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS comprising, slicing bottle corks into disks, and affixing 921,352 Blaker et al. May 11, 1909 said disks to the outside of the bag in overlapping posit- 1,715,420 Mayer June 4, 1929 tions, said affixing comprising stitching some of: said r 1,961,816 Cherry June 5, 1934 

